V3, Ioba, Burkina Faso

Project Status

Wells for Burkina Faso

Burkina Faso is one of our newest country programs. Our implementing partner is working primarily in and around Dano with the indigenous Dagara people. With the help of our donors around the world, the Burkina Faso program will provide clean, safe water to thousands of people for years to come.

Well Rehab

Well rehabilitation is one of the most cost effective ways to bring clean, safe water to a community. Sometimes it involves fixing a broken hand pump, other times it means sealing a hand dug well to prevent it from being contaminated. These repairs, and often time total replacements, coupled with sanitation and hygiene training make a huge impact in communities.

Rehabilitation Project

Rehabilitation is not just fixing a pump - it’s total community re-engagement.

There’s only one thing we can think of that might be worse than not having safe water: having safe water, and then losing it because a project fell into disrepair.

Rehabilitation often proves to be a big challenge, as many wells have sit idle for years and there is typically little information about the specifics of the well. A borehole and dug well rehabilitation involves quite a bit of discovery. First, our teams work to discover as much as they can about the initial project. What materials were used? Was the borehole/hand-dug well properly constructed? Many of these questions can only be answered by diving in, and doing “the work” which makes up a rehabilitation.

Once our teams have found the problem, they find the solution. Then, they reconstruct the well and install a hand pump.

Engagement and training with communities takes into account rehabilitation was needed and alters the program to suit the needs of the community. After all - engaging with this community in the same way which led to the initial, failed project will not bring new results. Our teams work to understand the social and support reasons leading to initial failure, and make those areas a focus of our ongoing engagement with communities.

Local Leadership

Local leadership is a lasting investment

Sustainable water projects only occur through the presence of local leaders. The Water Project identifies, develops, supports, and partners with local organizations who share our vision of reliable and verifiable clean water. Together, we build water programs that include responsible community development, lasting local solutions and ongoing monitoring and resolution.

Community Engagement

Community engagement is at every step of a water project.

Our engagement is rooted in relationship and includes involving the community in implementation and ongoing support, setting expectations for water point management and ongoing costs, etc. All of this happens before a water project is installed.

We use a term called ABCD: “Asset Based Community Development”. This means the community gets a leading seat at the table. Before we seek to bring anything into the community, we first seek to understand and utilize the assets that already exist within the community.

Hygiene and Sanitation Training

Community education and self-discovery about hygiene and sanitation concepts lead to improved health.

Improved health is always the goal. This is why all our projects include hygiene and sanitation training. We utilize many different methods for this training, depending on the community/institution, program and country. Training topics include disease transmission, personal hygiene and cleanliness, proper disposal of waste and proper water storage methods.

Monitoring and Resolution

Water isn’t a pump. Water is a service. And, it must be reliable.

The known benefits of water are ONLY true if water can be counted on, over time. We love celebrating when a project is complete and a community has access to clean, safe water. However, the ongoing service of water - making water reliable - is how we know our true impact.

The Water Project continues to monitor our water projects, and we provide continued support to make sure water service continues for communities.

Past water projects and the communities they serve are just as important to us as anything else we might be doing in the future.

Project Timeline FAQ

Project Status

We’re working hard to make sure your gifts result in a lasting water project for the community it serves. Our engagement with a community begins many months before construction and lasts years after construction. The timeline here is focused on the physical construction of the water project. There is also training and engagement work that has already started.

Water project construction in the developing world is hard work. A lot of things can and do cause delays - which are normal. We attempt to make our best judgment of when construction will be complete, but the circumstances surrounding actual "in the field" conditions are far from our control.

Weather, supply availability, government paperwork, and progress of community involvement are just a few of the variables that can delay (and sometimes speed up) a project's completion.

We will always tell you if anything changes. And, if you get a notice like this – it’s actually further proof your gifts are being carefully used towards a water project that lasts.

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Community Profile

Upon completion of the project, our partner in the field reports…

A LWI Burkina Faso team member commented, “All the people of the village came out quickly when we arrived, and before no time at all the installation was finished and clean water was flowing. At the end, many men and women were requesting for someone to send a preacher to them to hear more of this Jesus.” When the team arrived, community members were utilizing a protected hand dug well located one kilometer away from the community to meet all of their water needs. Because of this and the community’s practice of open defecation, families were suffering from dysentery, typhoid and malaria. During the team’s stay, community members assembled a water committee consisting of eight men who assisted the team with the water project whenever possible, provided materials and meals. Most community members subsistence farm or artisan gold mine to support their families. This water committee is also responsible for collecting a monthly well maintenance fee of $0.20 per family. The most predominant religions are Catholic, Protestant, Muslim and Animist. The nearest school is located five kilometers away from the community whose students, teachers and administrative personnel all have access to the new, safe water source. Before leaving the community, the team provided community member, Raoul Some, with a LWI Burkina Faso contact number in case their well were to fall into disrepair, become subject to vandalism or theft.

The LWI Burkina Faso team had an opportunity to meet with seventy-three year old community member, village chief and farmer, Bahibar Some, who stated, “You have come today to our aid to rehabilitate this pump and now, here it is, water is flowing abundantly. This well was idle a long time because we didn’t have the means necessary to repair it. But, thanks to God we have water. We want to thank you for this. But we would like to give you something because you have given us more than just water. We will reflect together how we can put something in our hands together to give you. We have nothing to give you like a gift for your partners in the USA. Because of this we will thank you with empty hands and pray that God will accompany you with good health and safety in your family. Thank you!”

During the hygiene education, the LWI Burkina Faso team addresses: Hand washing, how to properly transport and store water, disease transmission and prevention, how to maintain proper care of the pump, as well as signs and symptoms of dehydration and how to make Oral Rehydration Solution. All of these lessons are taught in a participatory method to help community members discover ways to improve their hygiene and sanitation choices, and implement community driven solutions.

Project Updates

02/11/2013: V3 Ioba Project Complete!

We are excited to report that the rehabilitation of a well in V3, Ioba, Burkina Faso has been completed. The newly restored well is now a source of safe, clean water for the community. We just posted a report from the field including information about the community, GPS coordinates, and pictures of the project.

Project Photos

Project Type

Well rehabilitation is one of the most cost effective ways to bring clean, safe water to a community. Sometimes it involves fixing a broken hand pump, other times it means sealing a hand dug well to prevent it from being contaminated. These repairs, and often time total replacements, coupled with sanitation and hygiene training make a huge impact in communities.

You have come today to our aid to rehabilitate this pump and now, here it is, water is flowing abundantly. This well was idle a long time because we didn't have the means necessary to repair it. But, thanks to God we have water.